Messi opposed increased release clause

This Thursday, Leo Messi will sign a new deal with Barcelona, the first time he will have done so under Sandro Rosell's presidency.

One of the mostly hotly debated issues during the negotiation of his new contract was the star's release clause. Barcelona wanted to raise the ¤250 million clause written into the Argentine's previous deal, so as to ward off potential offers.

Messi, though, dug his heels in and refused to budge. True, he has no interest in changing clubs at present. However, you never know what the future may bring and, the way he sees it, though ¤250 million is a small fortune, the new batch of mega-rich owners who are flocking into football could be tempted to shell out such a sum. Barça is all too aware of this, which is why it wanted to up the clause to begin with, but Leo wouldn't hear of it.

The Argentine was hankering after a pay rise to compensate for the Spanish government's decision to increase income tax, which would have seen him take a ¤1 million hit on what he earned last year. The club has responded by raising his basic salary to ¤12 million after tax every season through 2018.

The little wizard stands to pocket up to a further ¤4 million a year in performance-related bonuses. These include everything from how many trophies the club wins, the number of appearances he makes and whether he wins a fifth Ballon d'Or – this last feat would see him net close to ¤1 million in one fell swoop